"I mean, I personally don't see anything wrong with this."

"I know, dad, and that's the problem." Zeldri adjusted himself in his seat inside the Black Hawk as he continued to talk with his father on the phone. "You can't just give a PMC an old military base!"

"Why not?" The fact that his father sounded genuinely confused caused Zeldri to facepalm. "The thing's been abandoned for well over three decades. If anything, when I asked, Carter sounded more than happy to get it off his hands since it was just sitting empty for all this time wasting resources to occasionally send someone to check if it was still there. At least now it can be of some use."

"Still..." Zeldri's words trailed off as he looked out the window next to him. As he got closer to the Urals, there was less and less civilization. They were currently flying over what looked to be a small town, so Zeldri made a mental note to check it out since it was the closest piece of humanity to his new base. "I'm guessing the thing's been picked clean by scavs by now?"

"Who knows?"

"Who knows?" Zeldri repeated his father's words in confusion. "You just said they've been sending people to check on it. Did they just fly by the place to see if it still existed?"

"Things got pretty chaotic during the third world war. With so much destruction, things inevitably got lost in the fire. The place was already mothballed, and after the dust settled we were too busy picking up the pieces to bother with some old bunker. Which, if you recall, is also a part of why you're getting it." Zeldri's gaze went to his lap where a folder rested. "The FSB wants a complete inventory of that base and, upon completion, all relevant assets returned to Russia. But, that's more of a formality, so don't feel rushed to do it. I doubt you'll find anything noteworthy, but I had to do something 'official' sounding to get it fully okayed by my boss."

"...Honestly, dad," Zeldri sighed and tossed the folder into the seat next to him. "I thought mom was reigning in your bullshit?"

"And, what she doesn't know she can't get mad at me for. Win-win."

"Pfft!" Zeldri couldn't help but chuckle. He knew his father was just trying to help, even if it was a little much. "Alright, well, I should be getting close so I'm gonna let you go."

"Okay. I love you, Zeldri."

"I love you too, dad," Zeldri smiled as he hung up the phone. He picked up the headset next to him and put it on as he opened the door and entered the cockpit. "How much further?"

"You can see it from here," the pilot replied as he pointed out the front window. Just like he had seen in the picture back at HQ, the Mountain was already living up to its name as it was the tallest peak in the visible range. There was a dirt road they were flying over that wove up to what looked like a large open lot with a tunnel that bore into the mountain's base. The lot was surrounded by a chain-link fence that had holes in it or was completely eroded away in certain areas showing the lack of maintenance over the years. Some vehicles were parked in the lot along with some temporary-looking shelter units. As they drew closer, two people went into a clear part of the lot and one of them held glowing orange batons that they used to start assisting in their landing while the second person stood back. Once the helicopter had landed, and its rotors powered down, Zeldri opened the door and slowly stepped outside.

"Welcome to the Mountain, Commander!" The person who was standing back now stepped forward and pulled down their hood to reveal a woman in her early twenties with striking scarlet red hair that was held in a short ponytail. "I'm Annika, your logistics officer, and liaison to both Griffin and I.O.P." She seemed like an upbeat person, and her speech was casual. This wasn't the military.

"Thanks for meeting me here, Annika. But, skipping the pleasantries for a second, could you tell me why everyone's outside?" Despite his uniform being insulated against the cold, and his hood pulled up, his right leg was throbbing.

"Ah... About that..." Annika's eyes darted away as she seemed embarrassed. "We can't open the doors."

"...?" Zeldri was stunned for a moment. "Are they frozen shut?"

"They were, but we managed to get the ice cleared away; at least from the personnel-sized door." Annika motioned for Zeldri to follow her as she started walking towards the tunnel on the other side of the lot. "But... We don't have the codes to open it."

"...!?" Again, Zeldri was stunned, but this time for a different reason. "Were the codes we got wrong?"

"Huh?" Annika paused as she looked at Zeldri. "What codes?"

"The codes for the doors we got from the FSB?" As he spoke, Zeldri watched Annika's face become more and more confused.

"Commander, we didn't get any codes from the FSB," she explained as she motioned to the temp buildings, "We assumed we'd have to make a base out here and hope that the door's lock no longer worked or else we'd have to make do in the lot. No codes were sent to us."

"...Bring me to the door." Zeldri pinched his brow as he already knew what had happened. Annika nodded and they walked over to a small crowd of people that were in the tunnel's entrance. Now that he was close, Zeldri could see two doors cut into a concrete wall. One door was massive and was wide enough for two or three vehicles to drive through while the other was small and could only fit a person. Ice still caked the vehicle door, but the personnel door was mostly clear as people were chipping away the last bits of ice.

"Ah, Annika!" one of the men gave a shout as he saw them approach, "And, you must be the new commander."

"Correct," Zeldri affirmed before looking at the door. There was a keypad next to it. "Do we know if it still has power?"

"Surprisingly, it does." The man stepped aside for Zeldri to get closer and he could hear beeping when he pressed a button. "No idea how, or where it's coming from, but this place still has some kind of power. Now, if only we could op-" A loud kerchunk sound interrupted the man as Zeldri punched in a code and the door unlocked. "What the?!"

"Commander!" Annika ran up to Zeldri, "How did you do that?"

"With the code the FSB gave me." Zeldri handed Annika the folder he was carrying. As she flipped through it her eyes went wide.

"Wha-... We didn't get any of this!"

"Make sure the code is circulated so no one gets locked out."

"Of course!" Annika quickly tapped away at her tablet as she circulated the news. Zeldri figured this might happen. This base was given to him, specifically, to oversee which meant that Griffin was left out of the loop on things like the various door codes despite being his employer. A petty gesture to remind them who really owned the Mountain. "Honestly..." Zeldri muttered under his breath as he leaned against the door. It didn't budge. "There might be ice on the inside. Give me a hand with this."

"Leave that to us, Commander." A new voice drew Zeldri's attention to the entrance of the tunnel.

"Ah, StG44!" Annika exclaimed as Zeldri saw a group of five girls dressed in odd-looking outfits approach them.

"StG44. Pleased to make your acquaintance," StG44 said as she gave a salute to Zeldri, "A-ah, there's no need for a handshake or anything."

"Heya, I'm Galil," said a rather cheerful woman who stood just behind StG44. "I'll be counting on you from now on, my Commander."

"Well, if we're all introducing ourselves to the Commander... Hey there~," cooed another that was wearing clothing most definitely not suited for a winter environment and had an M2HB LMG slung over her shoulder. "Commander, are you ready to rain a hail of lead onto the enemy? I know I am~."

"Don't crowd him!" A rather small t-doll with a Nagant M1895 holstered at her waist pushed her way to the front. Zeldri could confidently say she was the only one that looked somewhat dressed for where they were. She looked over at him and gave a warm smile, "You're quite the odd one for having tastes in someone as old as I, aren't you?"

"...Old?" Zeldri passively repeated the word which brought a sly smile to Nagant's face.

"Of course," she proudly declared, "As the name suggests, the M1895 was manufactured in 1895 making me the oldest here. If you need anything, feel free to come to me for advice."

"I'm sure he'll come to you if he needs milk," came a rather bored voice from the rear of the group. Nagant's face became bright red, and she spun on her heels.

"AA-12!" Bringing up the rear of the five t-dolls was one that looked completely disinterested in what was going on as a sucker clacked in her mouth.

"Anyway... Hello, Commander, I'm AA-12. Pleased to meet... Blech!"

"...?" Zeldri raised an eyebrow as AA-12 looked away and chomped down on her sucker.

"Trying to act all proper is making me sick."

"No," StG44 corrected, "That would be all the junk food you eat." AA-12 grumbled a bit but didn't retaliate, so StG44 turned her attention back to Zeldri. "In any case, Commander, you should let us do it. We t-dolls are a lot stronger than humans, and are more than up to the task of opening an ice-locked door." The confidence in her voice, and the way the dolls were speaking caused Zeldri to momentarily forget that the five people in front of him weren't human. He was a bit weirded out.

"...Alright." Although he knew better, Zeldri couldn't imagine the small girls in front of him being stronger than him. The disconnect was too jarring. But, reality proved stranger than fiction as it only took Stg44 and Galil to force open the door. Ice shattered to the floor as they finished swinging the door inwards.

"There we...go?" Galil stopped leaning against the door and looked inside with a bemused expression. The tunnel was softly lit in a faint red glow that stretched into darkness. "Huh, the emergency lights are on."

"The base is probably on backup power so very little will work, like the keypad and these few lights," StG44 said as she took a few steps inside the dark tunnel.

"Backup power for over three decades?" Annika quietly talked to herself as she thumbed through the folder Zeldri had handed her.

"Hmm," Zeldri gazed into the darkness, "Do we have any flashlights?"

"Huh?" Annika looked up from the folder and went back through what Zeldri had asked her. "Oh! Flashlights. Nagant, could you get five flashlights and some PEQ-2's for your squad?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Nagant gave a salute and dashed away towards the temp buildings.

"You want to send them in?" Zeldri inquired.

"Ye-... Oh!" Annika got embarrassed and started making a rushed apology. "I'm sorry! I was in charge of them before you arrived, but now that you're here, Commander, you should be the one giving the orders!"

"It's fine, it's fine," Zeldri said. He was a little off-put by her extreme response to his simple question. "I agree with your judgment that it would be better to send them in to scout things out and find whatever power source is still running before we send everyone inside."

"A-Ah, thank you." Annika's shoulders relaxed at Zeldri's words. "It's just... Never mind, it's nothing." She tried to brush it away, but Zeldri wasn't up for this game.

"If it's nothing you wouldn't be too nervous to say it." Zeldri felt his words cut at the point and noticed that some of the human staff around them were getting antsy for some reason. "Speak."

"...Well," Annika hesitated for a bit before mustering up her courage, "Some commanders don't like it when staff oversteps their bounds. And, although I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it, this is actually my second assignment."

"I'm guessing your first didn't like you organizing the dolls?"

"...Yes." Annika wasn't making eye contact, but the other staff were watching this exchange intently. Zeldri knew that this little conversation had turned into something that would set a precedent, and his response would quickly spread among the staff. He chose his words carefully.

"While it is true that I'm the commander of this base, I am still new to this kind of structure. I assume you know a bit about my background?"

"Y-Yes. You have an extensive military service and have commanded military-grade combat dolls."

"Correct. Military combat dolls in a military hierarchy. From when I entered the offices at HQ to setting foot here I understood that this wasn't the military. Just from arriving on base, the air has a different feel from a normal military installation. So, in a sense, I'm a fish out of water. If anything, I would appreciate it if you could guide me as I adjust to the setting of a PMC."

"O-Of course!" Annika's face lit up with excitement and the staff around them had relaxed smiles on their faces. "I'll do what I can to support you, Commander!"

"Good," Zeldri gave a nod before looking to the tunnel entrance, "And, it looks like we killed enough time."

"Back without a scratch. As expected of myself!" Nagant returned triumphantly holding five flashlights and four PEQ-2's that she passed around to her team.

"Do they really need the PEQ-2's?" Zeldri asked as he watched the dolls mount the equipment to their guns.

"It actually does help them," Annika chimed in, "The PEQ's we use are retrofitted by I.O.P. to work with the t-doll's systems allowing for limited night vision. Pistol dolls like Nagant also gain the benefit of increased night vision that they can share with their teammates through their echelon link. Add on a flashlight, and they can see almost perfectly in dark environments." Upon hearing Annika's explanation, Nagant puffed out her chest with pride at the special mention.

"Hm." Zeldri nodded in understanding. Military-grade dolls usually had some form of night vision built-in, but since these were just retrofitted a-dolls they had to use roundabout equipment to get similar results. He noticed that M2HB didn't get a PEQ-2, but realized that there was no way to attach it to her gun, so he let it be. "Can I see the folder?"

"Sure," Annika replied as she handed him the folder with all the information on the base.

"Alright, listen up," he addressed the t-dolls and noticed that all but AA-12 gave him their undivided attention, "From what we know, this tunnel leads to the main level of the Mountain. But, your objective is on... sub-level six, the lowest level of the base. There you should find the 'power station' that seems to still be partially functioning. There isn't any information on what kind of power the Mountain relies on, so I can't tell you exactly what to look for. Recon the floor, and see if you can find a way to turn the rest of the lights on. Understood?"

"Yes, Commander!" the dolls affirmed together, except AA-12 who just grunted and gave a nod that she understood.

"Then, you're clear to proceed." Zeldri wasn't up for confronting a rebellious t-doll just yet, or even knew where to start with one, so he was letting AA-12's attitude slide.

"Here we go!" StG44 took the lead and led her squad into the darkness as they flicked on their flashlights.

"Commander," Annika said drawing Zeldri's attention, "While they recon the base, why not take this time to greet the staff? I can also show you how your new tablet works as it's a vital part of commanding our forces."

"..." Zeldri could tell Annika was hoping to spread the kind of person he was to the rest of the staff as a way of easing any preconceptions. "Sure, lead the way." With a smile on her face, Annika led Zeldri around their makeshift base for a tour. The people he met all seemed rather friendly, especially when they saw how relaxed Annika was around him. Also, to Zeldri's surprise, there were a few a-doll staff members. There was only a small handful of them, but notably, the vehicle crew had multiple a-dolls on hand.

"While they haven't undergone a retrofit into a t-doll, these a-dolls were specialized for work in the auto industry. They're second-hand models so they were kind of cheap, but they more than get the job done and meet our needs," Annika explained as she and Zeldri watched an a-doll assist in changing a wheel on a Humvee.

"I see," Zeldri slowly nodded before turning to Annika, "Why are we using American equipment, again?"

"Hm? Because it's cheaper," Annika responded matter-of-factly.

"It's cheaper to purchase and import old American military equipment than to just purchase old Soviet equipment?"

"Yup," Annika nodded as she turned to face Zeldri. "As you've now experienced with those codes of yours, the government doesn't exactly like us. Mr. Kryuger has done all he can to keep any oversight to a minimum, but that's led to our relationship with our own military souring to the point they actually upcharge us if we try to buy anything. The Americans don't really care and seem to just be happy to clean out their warehouses of obsolete gear for some extra money. Also, they probably get a kick out of arming a bunch of 'radical PMCs' in another country with military hardware."

"Even with the import costs?"

"Even with the import costs."

"Huh." Zeldri could see both sides of this story. On one hand, arming a PMC with military-grade hardware was risky; especially one with very little oversight by the FSB. On the other, however, Griffin needed this equipment to deal with Sangvis Ferri so it was rather petty to overcharge for it. "Well, it's good that my logistics officer is knowledgeable on these sorts of issues for me, and can even command doll squads." During the tour, they had passed their stockpile where it was revealed that Annika had been organizing and overseeing the t-dolls on small missions before his arrival. "Do logistics officers go through a special program like the commander's academy?"

"No." Zeldri noticed a shift in Annika's mood as her body stiffened and she turned back towards the vehicles. "I just know more than the average logistics officer."

"...I see." While he was willing to push on the topic of the previously exaggerated apologies, Zeldri felt that this lid should stay closed for now. He hadn't even been here a day and he didn't want to overstep himself. There would be time later for him to learn why Annika now held such a pained smile.